WTA Finals: Elina Svitolina beats Sloane Stephens for biggest career title victory

Elina Svitolina became the first Ukrainian player to win the WTA Finals after defeating Sloane Stephens in the season-ending tournament final in Singapore on Sunday.

The sixth-seeded Svitolina bounced back from a set deficit to clinch the title with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over the 2017 US Open champion.

.@ElinaSvitolina captures the @WTAFinalsSG!

Becomes Singapore’s final champion with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Stephens! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/yZ5WsFec8O

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2018

The 24-year-old showed little flare in the first set as Stephens won without any difficulty. But Svitolina broke three games each in the next two sets to become the first player to go unbeaten at the tournament since Serena Williams in 2013. Other than these two, only six others have finished unbeaten in the competition.

“It is amazing. I am very pleased with my performance this week,” Svitolina was quoted as saying by BBC. “There were nerves early on but I was just trying to fight for every ball and I think that made the difference in the end.”

I am incredibly happy to end the season with a victory at @WTAFinalsSG ? Many thanks to those who trusted in me!?? pic.twitter.com/s0th1bMm6b

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) October 28, 2018

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The Ukrainian, after fighting back in the second set to take the game into the decider, let 3-0 looking comfortable for a victory.  But Stephens broke the fifth game, while Svitolina won the next to make it 4-2. From there Stephens had lost her patience and first surrendered a serve before sending a backhand crosscourt wide to seal the victory for Svitolina.

“I thought she (Svitolina) played well and it was obviously a tough match from the beginning,” Stephens, who was making her debut at the WTA Finals, was quoted as saying by news agency AP. “I was really excited to be here and compete with everybody.”

“It is not the way I wanted to finish but I worked really hard to get here and I can be really proud of my result today so I am really pleased with that,” she added.

.@ElinaSvitolina receives the @BillieJeanKing Trophy from the legend herself! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/UMgpof3GZD

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2018

The finals victory also meant that she has now won 13 of the total finals she’s played in her career, including nine consecutive. Her last final defeat was in 2016 when she lost to Petra Kvitova at the Zhuhai Tournament.

Meanwhile, the WTA Finals has ended its five-year run in Singapore and will move to Shenzen, China for the next 10-years starting from 2019.